Nelson, James Lester (Flying Officer)

Missing 1955-January-29

Flying Officer James Lester Nelson RCAF

Birth Date: 1922

Born:

Son of John A. and Caroline G. (nee Sullivan) Nelson of Ottawa, Ontario.

Home:

Enlistment:

Enlistment Date: Unknown

Service

RCAF

Unit

3 AFS- Advanced Flying School

Base

Gimli, Manitoba, Canada

Rank

Flying Officer

Position

Flying Officer

Service Numbers

200583

1955-01-29 - T-33 21359, with Flying Officer PK Bradley and Flying Officer JL Nelson aboard, reported missing on a cross country training trip to Vancouver. Full scale search operations commenced in the area 90 miles north of Vancouver under the control of Vancouver Search and Rescue.

1955-02-01 - An all out search continues for the two missing instructors, with no success to date.

Canada Primary Source Station Historical Record - RCAF Station Gimli - 1955-01-29

Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)

Silver Star serial: 21359

Source: Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum

The Canadair CT-133 Silver Star (company model number CL-30) is the Canadian license-built version of the Lockheed T-33 jet trainer aircraft, in service from the 1950s to 2005.

The Canadair CT-133 was the result of a 1951 contract to build T-33 Shooting Star trainers for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). The powerplant is a Rolls-Royce Nene 10 turbojet instead of the Allison J33 used by Lockheed in the production of the original T-33. A project designation of CL-30 was given by Canadair and the name was changed to Silver Star. The appearance of the CT-133 is very distinctive due to the large fuel tanks usually carried on each wingtip. A total of 656 CT-133 aircraft were built by Canadair.

The CT-133 entered service in the RCAF as its primary training aircraft for fighter/interceptors. The designation of the Silver Star in the Canadian Forces was CT-133.

The CT-133's service life in the RCAF (and later the Canadian Forces) was extremely long. One of the more unusual roles it played was as an aerobatic demonstration aircraft, the RCAF's Red Knight. Although the aircraft stopped being used as a trainer in 1976, there were still over 50 aircraft in Canadian Forces inventory in 1995. The youngest of these airframes was then 37 years old and had exceeded its expected life by a factor of 2.5. During this period, the Canadair T-33 was employed in communication, target towing, and enemy simulation. Wikipedia

Wikipedia Wikipedia Canadair CT-133 Silver Star

unvetted Source Harold A Skaarup Web Page

Unit Desciption